Abstract
An epidemic of morbidity and mortality has swept across the United States related to the use of prescription opioids for chronic noncancer pain. More than 100 000 people have died from unintentional overdose, making this one of the worst manmade epidemics in history.
Much of health care delivery in the United States is regulated at the state level; therefore, both the cause and much of the cure for the opioid epidemic will come from state action.
We detail the strong collaborations across executive health care agencies, and between those public agencies and practicing leaders in the pain field that have led to a substantial reversal of the epidemic in Washington State.
Affiliations
- Gary Franklin is with the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle. Jennifer Sabel and Chris Baumgartner are with the Washington State Department of Health, Olympia. Christopher M. Jones is with the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA. Jaymie Mai is with the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, Olympia. Caleb J. Banta-Green is with the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute, University of Washington, Seattle. Darin Neven is with the Providence Sacred Heart Consistent Care Program, Spokane, WA. David J. Tauben is with the Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle.
